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How can parents talk to their kids about the economy?

Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy, shares basic talking points to help kids understand the way money and taxes influence the world around them.

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  • female robot ada style avatar for user Demetrice Sheppard
    When should parents and children decide when it is appropriate for the children to start working? Should they choose volunteer work or payroll jobs? Should the children work while also attending school; both high school and college?
    (10 votes)
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    • female robot ada style avatar for user Katey Gordon
      Hi Demetrice,
      For most countries the legal age to work is 16 and up. As for volunteering this varies for example We Day encourages youth to volunteer and make a difference in there community when it comes to teaching youth about charity, kindness and generosity they are never to young to be taught wether donating toys, fundraising it helps teach youth important lessons on giving back to others.

      Most youth I know at the age of Sixteen work some great roles include Camp counselors, Life guards, fast food service etc.

      When it comes to college time it can be beneficial to work on campus with some of the College's for example shops,cafe students can pay there education off further by working with their college.

      Everything depends on the situation of the Highschool/College level of the child certain circumstances may prevent them from working for me health problems was a key circumstance for me also there are many with disabilities attending highschool/college and need support services available they may not be able to juggle work and studies. This is when it's best to have them focus on studying and develop life skills including resume, communication, time management , budgeting etc. before working.
      (6 votes)
  • primosaur seedling style avatar for user steven.pierangeli
    Im a 14 year old kid who gets employed whenever my boss need yard work done. I get payed 8 dollars an hour and usually work for 4 hours a day. Are there any tips and tricks you can give me to be as successful as i can be, and still make a good amount of money?
    (3 votes)
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    • duskpin seed style avatar for user Katherine Milne
      Yes! What you can do while you're young is to save money. I had a similar job like you except I only worked one day a week and got from $10-$20 depending on the work I did. I also had chores at home that my parents would pay me to do (normally $0.25 a job around the house). Because as a teenager, you don't have large expenditures, you have a great opportunity to save and pocket the money and save for either investing money through firms or stocks (stocks are risky) or save your money for college or trade school (which are also great investments). With what little money I was earning, by the time I graduated high school, I saved just under $3,000, and I didn't have time to get a part time job like other teens did. So if you want to, try to work part-time or even find a need in your community and become an entrepreneur. For example, I had a friend that would weed gardens for people in the neighborhood. Baby sitting can also be a good job. And volunteer work is great to buff up resumes to get good jobs really fast after high school. You can tutor at elementary schools or junior high schools, help in animal shelters, even shadow health professionals and others. It is all about reaching out and talking to people and even interviewing people. You will be surprised about how many people are willing to to talk and help others.
      (2 votes)
  • starky ultimate style avatar for user Sitheli21
    What role does maturity play in The proccess of alllowing your children to get a job?
    (2 votes)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user 432312
    were should we start our carer?
    (2 votes)
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  • duskpin seedling style avatar for user Princessdodo
    Anyone seen that Cosby how bit when theo wants to move out and he has a discussion with his dad about taxes and bills and stuff!
    (2 votes)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user Gisell
    When should parents and children decide when it is appropriate for the children to start working? Should they choose volunteer work or payroll jobs?
    (2 votes)
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  • duskpin seedling style avatar for user sarah
    How do you bring up finances with your parents?
    (1 vote)
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  • mr pants teal style avatar for user Cowboylifeisbest
    Income taxes suck why should the government get are hard earned money they just spend it on stupid stuff
    (1 vote)
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  • aqualine sapling style avatar for user eas5920
    This is a great learning tool!
    (1 vote)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user Gage Rottum
    Don’t have a question
    (1 vote)
    Default Khan Academy avatar avatar for user

Video transcript

- So just as it's really important when your children are young to talk about the grocery bill, or the utility bills, or whatever else it might be, it's also important to point out, well how does the whole world work? Who pays for these highways? Who pays for the military? You know, whatever social services. And at least get 'em thinking about, well, okay, this stuff doesn't just magically show up. Someone has to pay for 'em. And that is the role of taxes. And how does the government get those taxes? Well, there's sales tax, so you know, you thought something cost $4, but when you go to pay, it's actually $4.32. Why is that? Well, that 32 cents is gonna go to the government. What's that government gonna spend that money on? Or income tax. And income tax is a very important thing to talk about with children because they might say, oh well, if I make $50,000 a year, and even the ones that are thoughtful about money, say, well I could buy this, I could buy that, I could buy this. But you have to point out, well, you know, after taxes, it's only going to be this amount of money. And then they're gonna be like, oh, (chuckles) okay, I see. And those taxes, they go to the government. Explain state government, local government, federal government. Where those taxes go. And then there's actually room, not just to talk about, kind of taxes, but it actually makes you talk about society, and eventually political decision. So I think, you know, taxes is part of the story of allowing kids to realize that things just don't show up magically for free. That money is a very important part of our system and it's frankly just not talked enough about.